There is a greater chance than not that if you turn on the TV and head over to a 24-hour news channel, you’ll see a story involving terrorism. It seems that nowadays this is all people care about, especially our government.
To be fair, it’s a legitimate concern. There are in fact people across the world who want to topple America and all it stands for. But in this age of color-coded alert systems (which have never been green) and defense spending taking up 64 percent of the budget, we are missing something vital: context.
The chances of dying of a hernia are 16 times more likely than dying in a terrorist attack. In fact, the chances of dying due to driving off of the side of the road are about 80 times more likely. According to astronomer Alan Harris, over an 80-year lifespan, you are no more likely to be killed by terrorists than die in an apocalyptic comet-related incident.
I don’t see a color-coded comet defense system. I don’t see news reports about the “unseen threat” of hernias. Why am I being advised to buy duct tape and plastic wrap for my windows and doors, but am receiving no basic driving safety tips?
The problem America currently faces isn’t terrorism. Rather, it is the threat of terrorism. We are a society increasingly fascinated by the morbid idea that legions of terrorist masterminds want nothing more than to kill each and every one of us, including our family dog, Spot. Because of this, we’ve allowed the federal government to ban liquids of all forms from airplane luggage, even when the terrorist threat the decision was based off of was debunked by chemists. We’re even considering redefining the U.S.’s obligations in the Geneva Convention, a decision that will have everlasting legal ramifications. Don’t even get me started on the hypocritical assault on our civil liberties.
Simply put, all of the resources that go into politicizing national security, all of the time spent talking about terrorist schemes that are blown out of proportion, and all of the lives and money lost in the Iraq war could have been better spent on our economy, or stabilizing chaotic regions of the world with assistance instead of ultimatums. (Fun Fact: In a report by the CIA released this month, it found that Saddam was in fact distrustful of Al Qaeda, and felt they represented a threat to his regime. He refused to assist them in any endeavors.)
In a dark cave somewhere with a TV and a satellite hookup, Al Qaeda is having a huge “Go Terror!” party. You see, terrorism can’t invade a country. Terrorism is a tool used to garner attention and produce a political result. One that, as security technologist Bruce Schneier explains, is working.
According to Scheiner, “Blowing up planes, trains, markets or buses is not the goal (of terrorism); those are just tactics. The real targets of terrorism are the rest of us: the billions of us who are not killed but are terrorized because of the killing. The real point of terrorism is not the act itself, but our reaction to the act. And we’re doing exactly what the terrorists want.”
Since our government or media isn’t going to change course, I propose that every loyal reader should do their civic duty by turning off the news and throwing a rocking anti-terror party. The only requirements are not to have the news on or think about terrorists. Anyone who attends is a tried-and-true patriot (bonus Ameripoints to those who wear red, white and blue). Maybe afterward, you can take a weekend drive up to D.C. or New York. Or even, dare I say, fly there.